Ear Candy Dept.: 50 Words For Snow

"50 Words For Snow": 7 Songs set against a background of falling snow. Kate Bush Photographed by Trevor Leighton

Kate Bush always challenges her audience. No one gets off easy once they enter her arena. Her music is “serious stuff’ compared to the immediately accessible pabulum that floods pop music. And, if the listener rises to her challenge, the reward is always substantial. This isn’t music for people who want background noise to balance their accounts by. Nor is it assaulting and angry as much rock can be. This is music for intense focus and contemplation. Ms. Bush is a weaver of words and sounds into aural tapestries that cover over the listener like a blanket of emotion. The music is seductive and unusually obtuse at first, but every time you hear it there is something new waiting to be found. These pieces are less songs than aural puzzles waiting to be solved and managing to evade solution even with familiarity. Still, the elusive nature of her music isn’t frustrating but . . . challenging . . . as much of the best music is. Open your ears. Open your mind. Listen.

To hear Kate Bush’s “50 Words For Snow” in its entirety (for a limited time) go to NPR.